This invention relates to an image recording apparatus that records an image by scanning with light beams modulated with digital image signals.
In commonly employed photographic printing apparatus, an image is recorded on a photographic film such as a negative or reversal film and the light transmitted through the photographic film is directly focused on an unreeled intermittently moving light-sensitive material such as photographic paper; by this a real exposure, the recorded image is continuously printed on the roll of light-sensitive material.
In copiers capable of reproducing transmission-type originals such as photographic films, slit scanning light that has passed through the photographic film moving relative to the light source is directly focused on a light-sensitive material, for example, one in a sheet form that is being transported concurrently in an auxiliary scanning direction which is perpendicular to the slit length; by this slit scan exposure, the image on the photographic film is printed onto the light-sensitive material.
These are so-called xe2x80x9cdirect (analog) exposurexe2x80x9d techniques in which the projected light from the photographic film is directly used to have the image on the photographic film printed on the light-sensitive material. A new technology has recently been proposed and this is a digital exposure system. Briefly, the image on a photographic film is read photoelectrically from the projected light and converted to digital image signals, which are subjected to various image processing operations to produce recording image signals; light beams such as laser beams modulated in accordance with the recording image signals are scanned one-dimensionally (in a main scanning direction) such that a roll of light-sensitive material being transported in an auxiliary direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction is exposed by raster scanning. The Applicant has put on the market a digital photoprinter that implements this digital exposure system.
One major advantage of the digital photoprinter is that when the image on a photographic film is reproduced by photographic printing on a light-sensitive material such as photographic paper, part or all of the image signals read from the photographic film are subjected to color and/or tonal correction such that the quality of the reproduced image is improved by appropriate processing such as sharpening or that the reproduced image on a film having failures such as under-exposure or over-exposure that are problematic in photographic printing or a film having color failures from shooting with rear light or an electronic flash, especially the image reproduced on a failure negative film is rendered to be in an appropriate condition or improved in quality. Another advantage is that on account of the use of digital image signals, a computer can be introduced for image generation or splitting or in order to perform editing jobs such as compositing and tiling more than one image, image segments, character images and so forth. If desired, the digital image signals may be loaded as a video file into various electronic image recording media so that they can be read, reproduced and edited on a computer and outputted on a hard copy whenever it is necessary.
With the digital photoprinter in which the roll of light-sensitive material being unreeled and transported in an auxiliary scanning direction is exposed by raster scanning with deflected light beams, the image to be reproduced must be recorded on the unreeled light-sensitive material over the entire area in an appropriate way by means of the deflected light beams. However, if vibrations from within and/or from the outside of the recording apparatus are transmitted to the main scanning section which issues the deflected light beams or the auxiliary scanning section in which the unreeled light-sensitive material is transported in the auxiliary scanning direction, displacements or jumps will occur in the relative positions of the light beams and the light-sensitive material, eventually causing unevenness in the reproduced image.
To avoid this problem, the digital photoprinter which relies upon the digital exposure system is adapted to form a loop of the unreeled light-sensitive material in both upstream and downstream of the auxiliary scanning section and, in addition, a unitary assembly of the main and auxiliary scanning sections is coupled to the other parts of the apparatus, in particular, its frame via rubber vibration insulators so that both the main and auxiliary scanning sections are vibrationally insulated from the other parts, thereby preventing not only internal but also external vibrations from being transmitted to these scanning sections, thereby ensuring that no unevenness will occur in the reproduced image.
The digital photoprinter has an additional advantage in that the position of the unreeled light-sensitive material, particularly in the main scanning direction can be easily regulated by the transport guide placed immediately upstream of the auxiliary scanning section. However, if sheets of light-sensitive material are to be exposed by raster scanning with deflected light beams as they are transported in the auxiliary scanning direction, recording must be done in such a way that the image to be reproduced just fits within the defined area of each sheet and to meet this need, the sheets of light-sensitive material have to be arranged with high precision in position, particularly in the position in the main scanning direction. The register section for meeting this requirement is more complex and of higher precision than in the case of processing the unreeled light-sensitive material and, hence, must be provided upstream of the auxiliary scanning section. Such being the case, the conventional vibration damping and insulating system (mechanism) is incapable of insulating the internal or external vibrations so that they will not adversely affect the exposure by raster scanning.
Under the circumstances, it has been impossible to realize a high-performance low-cost digital photoprinter that performs raster scan exposure on sheets of light-sensitive material, for example, those in a sheet form prepared by cutting the unreeled light-sensitive material into specified lengths.
An object, therefore, of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus which, when sheets of light-sensitive material being transported in an auxiliary scanning direction, such as those in a cut sheet form prepared by cutting an unreeled light-sensitive material into specified lengths, are exposed by raster scanning with modulated light beams either deflected or arranged in the main scanning direction generally perpendicular to the auxiliary scanning direction, is capable of insulating, rejecting or preventing the adverse effects of both internal and external vibrations so that they will not cause any unevenness in images, thereby ensuring the production of uniform high-quality images.
The stated object of the invention can be attained by an image recording apparatus comprising:
a main scanning section that performs main scanning with issued recording light beams either deflected or arranged one-dimensionally in a main scanning direction;
an auxiliary scanning section by means of which sheets of a light-sensitive material to be illuminated with said issued recording light beams from said main scanning section are transported in an auxiliary scanning direction perpendicular or generally perpendicular to said main scanning direction; and
an upstream transport section that is located upstream of said auxiliary scanning section in a transport direction of the light-sensitive material, that transports said light-sensitive material and which has a register means by which a position of said light-sensitive material in said main scanning direction before it is transported to said auxiliary scanning direction is brought into alignment with a prescribed position;
wherein said light-sensitive material, as it is transported in said auxiliary scanning direction after its position in said main scanning direction was regulated by said upstream transport section, is illuminated with said recording light beams that performs main scanning in said main scanning direction, whereby said light-sensitive material is scanned two-dimensionally with said recording light beams to record an image on said light-sensitive material,
said apparatus further including vibration damping means by which said main scanning section, said auxiliary scanning section and said upstream transport section are combined into a unitary assembly and coupled to other components of the image recording apparatus in such a way as to insulate vibrations.
Preferably, an optical flat of said main scanning section, said auxiliary scanning section and said upstream transport section are connected and fixed by connecting means to form the unitary assembly and the resulting unitary assembly of the optical flat of said main scanning section, said auxiliary scanning section and said upstream transport section is coupled to a main frame of the image recording apparatus via said vibration damping means.
In the first embodiment of the invention, it is also preferred that the image recording apparatus further includes a light-sensitive material supply section comprising:
a magazine that is located upstream of said upstream transport section and which contains a roll of said light-sensitive material; and
a cutter by means of which said light-sensitive material as unreeled from said magazine is cut to a specified length of sheet which is determined by said image to be recorded.
In a preferred case of said image recording apparatus, in addition to said main scanning section, said auxiliary scanning section and said upstream transport section, said light-sensitive material supply section is combined into a unitary assembly and coupled to other components of the image recording apparatus by said vibration damping means in such a way as to insulate vibrations.
More preferably, the optical flat of said main scanning section, said auxiliary scanning section, said upstream transport section and said light-sensitive material supply section are connected and fixed by said connecting means to form the unitary assembly and the resulting unitary assembly of the optical flat of said main scanning section, said auxiliary scanning section, said upstream transport section and said light-sensitive material supply section are coupled to the main frame of the image recording apparatus via said vibration damping means.
In yet another preferred embodiment, a loop is formed of said unreeled light-sensitive material between said cutter in said light-sensitive material supply section and said register means in said upstream transport section and said unreeled light-sensitive material to be subjected to main scanning in said main scanning section is cut to a specified length of sheet by means of said cutter as it is transported in the auxiliary scanning direction through said auxiliary scanning section.
Alternatively, said register means in said upstream transport section is located just next to said cutter in said light-sensitive material supply section and said light-sensitive material is transported by means of said upstream transport section as its position in said main scanning direction is aligned to the prescribed position by said register means.
The object of the invention can also be attained by an image recording apparatus comprising:
a main scanning section that performs main scanning with issued recording light beams either deflected or arranged one-dimensionally in a main scanning direction; and
an auxiliary scanning section by means of which sheets of a light-sensitive material to be illuminated with said issued recording light beams from said main scanning section are transported in an auxiliary scanning direction perpendicular or generally perpendicular to said main scanning direction;
wherein said light-sensitive material as it is transported in said auxiliary scanning direction is illuminated with said recording light beams that performs main scanning in said main scanning direction, whereby said light-sensitive material is scanned two-dimensionally with said recording light beams to record an image on said light-sensitive material,
said apparatus further including vibration damping means by which said main scanning section and said auxiliary scanning section are combined into a unitary assembly and coupled to other components of the image recording apparatus in such a way as to insulate vibrations.
Preferably, said auxiliary scanning section has a sensor for detecting positions in both said main and auxiliary scanning directions of said light-sensitive material being transported in the auxiliary scanning direction and a means of adjusting a recording position in which said image is to be recorded on said light-sensitive material with said recording light beams.